On the same day that President Emmanuel Macron held his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, France has accepted its first gay refugee from Chechnya.
Gay and bisexual men in Chechnya have in recent months been abducted, tortured and in some cases murdered in concentration camps. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has denied the existence of such camps. However, Putin has announced plans to investigate following international pressure.
BREAKING France takes in #LGBT refugees from #Chechnya same day #Putin visits Versailles. Proud of my President ! #Macron 🇫🇷🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/siwkMjVzn1— Gastaldi (@VictorCahat) May 29, 2017
The refugee’s arrival in France on Monday was confirmed by Joël Deumier, president of SOS Homophobie.
Deumier said that more refugees could soon arrive in France but according to TheLocal.fr, he dismissed Putin’s claims of an investigation into the purge.
“We hear Mr Putin say that he has launched an investigation, that it is not true and that there are no crimes against homosexuals, which is totally false. We can no longer accept this discourse of negation by Russia against homosexuals.”
During Monday’s meeting, Putin is said to have promised Macron “the whole truth” regarding abuses against gay men in Chechnya.
Watch a France 24 report on the Chechen purge below.
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